On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066,
the instrument that authorized the forced removal and incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans. Denied their civil liberties, they were held in camps operated by the War Relocation Authority. Between 1942 and 1944, some 33,000 individual contracts were issued for seasonal farm labor, with many working in the sugar beet industry. This exhibit introduces their story.

The Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission has collected more than a dozen oral history interviews with those who lived in farm labor camps. This video features excerpts from these interviews, sharing first hand accounts of the Japanese American wartime experience and life in the labor camps.

Recent News

Press Coverage

“Born in an internment camp for Japanese Americans, she fears Muslims face a similar fate today,” Philadelphia Inquirer, February 5, 2017 “What to see in L.A. galleries: World War II farm labor camp photography and more,” Los Angeles Times, …

“The Camp Without A Fence”

On February 28, the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center hosted a program in Portland. Our curator, Morgen Young, presented a history of the Nyssa, Oregon farm labor camp, which in July 1942 became known as “the camp without a fence,” thanks …

James Tanaka

Twin Falls, Idaho farm labor camp

RT @DenshoProject: So are we surprised that homegrown white supremacist hate groups are terrorizing Americans? Sadly, no. Are we angry about? Hell yes we are.

Japanese American History

1885

The first Japanese labor migrants arrive in Hawaii.

1891

Japanese immigrants begin arriving in the continental U.S. They find jobs mainly as railroad workers, agricultural laborers, and loggers.

Jun. 27 1894

A U.S. district court rules that Japanese immigrants cannot become citizens, as the Naturalization Act of 1790 limited citizenship to “free white person[s].”

May 7 1900

Labor groups in San Francisco organize the first major anti-Japanese protest in California.

May 14 1905

The Asiatic Exclusion League is formed in San Francisco, marking the official beginning of the anti-Japanese movement in the U.S.

1907

Through the Gentlemen's Agreement, the U.S. agrees to not impose restrictions on Japanese immigration and Japan agrees to cease further emigration of Japanese laborers to the U.S. Japanese women are still allowed to immigrate, provided they are wives of U.S. residents.

1913

California passes the Alien Land Law, which forbids aliens ineligible for citizenship from owning land. The legislation later prohibits the leasing of land. Similar laws eventually pass in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

1924

Passage of the Immigration Act of 1924 effectively ends all Japanese immigration to the U.S.

Nov. 1941

The Munson Report, an intelligence report commissioned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, concludes that the majority of Japanese Americans are loyal to the U.S. They therefore do not present a security risk in the event of war with Japan.

Dec. 7 1941

Japan bombs Pearl Harbor. The FBI begins arresting Japanese identified as community leaders, including newspaper publishers, doctors, translators, and priests.

Feb. 19 1942

President Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066. It authorizes the forced removal and incarceration of more than 120,000 U.S. residents of Japanese ancestry.

Mar. 1942

The Wartime Civil Control Administration opens temporary assembly centers to detain Japanese Americans until incarceration centers are built.

Mar 18 1942

President Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9102, which establishes the War Relocation Authority.

Mar. 27 1942

The period of “voluntary evacuation" ends. The U.S. Army prohibits all Japanese Americans in the western halves of California, Oregon, and Washington from changing residences.

May 1942

Incarcerees begin to be moved to War Relocation Authority camps. They include Gila River, Granada, Heart Mountain, Jerome, Manzanar, Minidoka, Poston, Rohwer, Topaz, and Tule Lake.

May 22 1942

The War Relocation Authority’s seasonal leave program begins with the arrival of fifteen Japanese Americans to the Nyssa, Oregon farm labor camp. Between 1942 and 1944, the WRA issues more than 30,000 seasonal labor contracts.

Jun. 1942

Japanese American farm labor camps open near the towns of Rupert, Shelley, and Twin Falls, Idaho.

The 442nd Regimental Combat Team is organized. It is comprised of Japanese Americans from Hawaii and the continental U.S., including those incarcerated in concentration camps. In June 1944, the 100th Infantry Battalion, made up of Japanese Americans from Hawaii, incorporates with the 442nd. It becomes the most decorated unit in American military history.

Dec. 18 1944

The U.S. Supreme Court hands down a decision for the case Ex parte Mitsuye Endo. The court rules unanimously that the U.S. government cannot detain a citizen who is loyal to the United States.

Jan. 2 1945

With the Supreme Court ruling in the Endo case, the War Department announces that exclusion orders are rescinded, essentially ending the incarceration.

Aug. 6 1945

The U.S. drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. A second bomb is dropped on Nagasaki two days later. Japan announces its surrender on August 15, effectively ending World War II.

Jul. 2 1948

President Harry S. Truman signs the Japanese American Evacuation Claims Act. It authorizes the settlement of property loss claims by Japanese Americans forcibly removed from their homes and incarcerated during the war. Congress eventually pays $38 million which only covers a fraction of the estimated loss in property and income.

1952

The U.S. Supreme Court rules alien land laws unconstitutional.

1980

U.S. Congress appoints nine members to the newly established Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians to conduct a study of Executive Order 9066 and its impact on Japanese Americans. Over the next year, the commission hears testimonies from more than 750 witnesses.

Feb. 24 1983

The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians issues “Personal Justice Denied." The report concludes that the incarceration of Japanese Americans had not been justified by military need, but instead was based upon "race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership."

Aug. 10 1988

President Ronald Reagan signs the Civil Liberties Act (H.R. 442) into law. It acknowledges that the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans was unjust. The act also offers a public apology and makes reparation payments of $20,000 to each of the estimated 60,000 surviving people who had been incarcerated.

This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

This material received Federal financial assistance for the preservation and interpretation of U.S. confinement sites where Japanese Americans were detained during World War II. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, the U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability or age in its federally funded assisted projects. If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to: